Del The Funky Ghost Rapper
"I'm highly animated, even though I'm decomposing!" - Del, Rock the House One of the various spirits causing chaos in Russel's head, Del served as Gorillaz' lead rapper during phase one, rising from beyond the grave to provide the band with mind-bending rhymes and overly complex dance instructions. Despite having disappeared from the band following their first album, Del - recognized best for his appearance in Gorillaz' hit single, Clint Eastwood - continues to be a key icon in the Gorillaz following, inspiring fans to shake, bake, and do whatever it takes... whatever that means. Phase 1: Celebrity Take Down A longtime friend of Russel, Del - along with a number of Russel's fellow friends - died in a spontaneous drive-by shooting, his ghostly spirit taking refuge in Russel's body. This left Russel permanently physically altered, his eyes washed over by pure white. Del's spirit occasionally rose from Russel's head to perform alongside and interact with the rest of band, leaving his host in a brief catatonic state with every occurrence. This can be seen in the music videos for Clint Eastwood and Rock the House, as well as the G-Bite "Jump the Gut". Playfully abrasive, Del used his otherworldly powers to his advantage, toying with the band in a variety of surreal ways - from summoning a legion of undead apes, to inflating himself to monstrous proportions. Starring in many of the band's early videos, Del quickly came to be considered a core member of Gorillaz. Phase 2 - Present During Russel's adventures following Gorillaz' first breakup, Del - having avoided his fate by hiding within Russel - was reaped by Death himself, tore from Russel's body along with the various spirits remaining from the drive-by incident. Left empty and frightened, the incident quickly spoiled Russel's mind; driving him into a wavering state of confusion, stoicism, and madness. When asked in a 2017 interview if Del was doing well, Russel responded by saying, "Yes, Del is inside all of us. All's well that Del's well." What this means, no-one is certain; likely including Russel himself. Personality Boastful and confident, Del used his unusual state of being to do whatever he pleased; boyishly torturing the band, materializing for surprise rap performances, and, generally, living it up. Self-confident to boot, Del - unlike the notably reserved Russel - was nothing short of a good time, always prepared to kick things into high gear - whether Gorillaz were ready, or, in most cases, not. Trivia * Del's gear in Rock the House is directly based on the costume worn by the titular character of the film Mister Freedom. * In some early interviews, Russel was mistakenly identified as Del, leading to some confusion on which character was which. Likewise, real-life rapper Del the Funky Homosapien was often falsely credited as the "real" Russel. * Del can be seen in many pieces of concept art for the unmade Gorillaz film "Celebrity Take Down", usually appearing ''without ''skin, a small nose, and stringy hair. * Del is referenced in De La Soul's version of Clint Eastwood. Gallery RocktheHouseDelctoon.png|Del as seen in Rock the House tumblr_nj0fyaeca01u9e5leo2_500.jpg|Del in a phase one group photo tumblr_nj0g1gbGOB1u9e5leo2_r1_1280.jpg|Del in Celebrity Take Down concept art tumblr_nnzxx69sCi1u9e5leo3_r1_640.jpg|Del in Celebrity Take Down concept art